POTD: Open Sided Single Shot Rifle – The C.B. Holden Open Frame 1862
Sam.S 10.31.23
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Here we have a C.B. Holden open frame breech-loading rifle. I admittedly found very little information on these guys but their mechanisms are still extremely intriguing. The C.B. Holden Model 1862 rifle was an unusual open-frame single-shot designed by Charles B. Holden. Approximately 200 were manufactured from 1862-1870. It had a .44 caliber 24-inch octagonal barrel and fired .44 Rimfire metallic cartridges. But the Holden’s defining trait was its bare bronze receiver with dual finger loops on one side. These allowed cocking the exposed mechanism and opening the breech to insert rounds directly into the open action. While an unorthodox setup by modern standards, the Holden’s split receiver highlighted innovative breech-loading techniques in the pioneering era of metallic cartridges. Few Holden open-frame rifles survive today.
“Manufacturer: Holden C BModel: Open Frame-RifleType: RifleGauge: 44 RFBarrel: 24 inch octagonFinish: brightStock: walnut”
Lot 2325: Two Antique Breech Loading Longarms – A) C.B. Holden Open Frame Model 1862 Breech Loading Rifle. (n.d.-ak). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved October 30, 2023, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1034/2325/two-antique-breech-loading-longarms.
